''Jayhawkers'' is a 2014 American sports drama/biographical film directed by

Kevin Willmott Kevin Willmott (born August 31, 1959) is an Academy Award Winning American film director and screenwriter, and professor of film at the University of Kansas. He is known for work focusing on black issues including writing and directing '' Nint ...

, following the life of Wilt Chamberlain, Phog Allen, and the

1956–57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team The 1956–57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team was a Division I college basketball team that represented the University of Kansas. Coached by Dick Harp, the Jayhawks posted a 24–3 win–loss record, winning the then- Big Seven Conference ...

. Former Kansas basketball player

Scot Pollard The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...

portrays

B. H. Born Bertram H. "B. H." Born (June 6, 1932 – February 3, 2013) was an American basketball center. After graduating from Medicine Lodge High School in 1950, he played for the Kansas Jayhawks from 1951 to 1954. College career During the 1951–5 ...

in the film.

Synopsis

The film, which was shot entirely in black and white, depicts Kansas basketball coach Phog Allen's recruitment of Wilt Chamberlain, the dedication of

Allen Fieldhouse Allen Fieldhouse is an indoor arena on the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. It is home of the Kansas Jayhawks men's and women's basketball teams. The arena is named after Phog Allen, a former player and head coach for the Jayhaw ...

, and Allen's forced retirement. The film also follows Chamberlain's adjustment to life in

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

and his battle to help end segregation in the city, as well as the racism he experienced traveling for road games. The film depicts the Jayhawks triple overtime loss in the 1957 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Cast

Kip Niven Clifford Wallace "Kip" Niven (May 27, 1945 – May 6, 2019) was an American actor and theatre director. Early life Niven was born in Kansas City and grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas, the son of William Watson Niven and Elizabeth Hopkins Niven ...

– Forrest "Phog" Allen *Justin Wesley – Wilt Chamberlain *

Blake Robbins Blake Robbins (born June 17, 1965) is an American actor and director of film and television. He appeared in the films '' Wind River'', '' The Ugly Truth'', ''Jayhawkers'', and '' To Leslie''. Robbins is also known for his guest-starring appearances ...

–

Dick Harp Richard F. Harp (March 28, 1918 – March 18, 2000) was an American college basketball coach who spent the majority of his career at the University of Kansas. He became the Kansas Jayhawks' fourth men's basketball coach in 1956. He coached for e ...

*Jay Karnes – Chancellor Franklin Murphy *

Trai Byers Trai Byers (born July 19, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Andre Lyon in the Fox television series ''Empire'' (2015–2020). Early life Trai Byers was born in Kansas City, Kansas. After a year of high school in Kansas Ci ...

– Nathan Davis *Joseph Lee Anderson – Maurice King *Walter Coppage –

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

Additionally, former Kansas basketball player

makes a brief appearance as fellow former Kansas basketball player

Production

A portion of the budget was raised through the crowd-funding site

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...

, with over $54,000 raised. Shot in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...

, and

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

, the film stars then-current Kansas Basketball player Justin Wesley as Chamberlain. The 6-foot-9 forward was recommended for the role by KU coach

Bill Self Billy Eugene Self Jr. (born December 27, 1962) is an American basketball coach. He is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Kansas, a position he has held since 2003. During his 19 seasons as head coach, he has led the Jayhawks to ...

to Willmott. A teaser trailer was shown at Late Night in the Phog 2012, The film premiered in Lawrence, Kansas, on February 14, 2014, and made its public debut on February 28, 2014 at Liberty Hall near the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

campus. Willmott, a film professor at the

, cast multiple alumni of the school in the film, including

, Jay Karnes,

, and former basketball players

and Justin Wesley.

Reception

Ben Sachs of

The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...

said he “admired Willmott’s skill in executing the basketball sequences, which illustrate more vividly than in most sports movies how athletics can become an outlet for personal and professional anxieties.” Loey Lockerby of

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and as ...

wrote, “Willmott offers a creative and intriguing look at Lawrence in the 1950s.” In 2020,

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

critic Richard Brody wrote an article revisiting the film, praising it as “an exemplary, even thrilling, historical drama." Brody said, "All of the subjects woven into the drama are treated substantially and considered in detail — especially the politics of race and of the nascent, and widely resisted, civil-rights movement.”

References

External links

* American basketball films Basketball in Kansas Films set in 1956 Films set in Kansas Films shot in Kansas Kickstarter-funded films 2014 films Films directed by Kevin Willmott 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{sport-film-stub